Cordelia Lutheran is the oldest Lutheran building in the State of Idaho (established in 1883). The church was home to the first Swedish congregation in Idaho, organized in 1880 by Rev. Peter Carlson. The congregation was known as "The Swedish Evangelical Lutheran Congregation, Cordelia, Nez Perce County, Idaho Territory" but history has shortened it to Cordelia Lutheran.
The charter member families of the congregation were C.P. Anderson, C.J. Linquist, Isaak Linquist, O. Westendahl, Julius Schumacher, John W. Carlson, Andrew E. Carlson, John Turner, E.G. Peterson, Edwin Peterson, Carl Andrew Hagstrom, and Peter Mortenson.
The basic structure of the church and cemetery remains almost intact in the original state. All but two pews were in the 1883 church. The pulpit was added in 1903. A horse shed and pit toilets were on the property. The cemetery had more graves than the five presently known (four headstones). Several graves were moved when the church stopped holding services in 1918. In 1995, the church was placed on the National Registry of Historic Places.
The first organ was purchased by Rev. Carlson and Carl P. Anderson for $50 and moved from place to place where meetings were held in 1880. It was a reed pump organ, meaning the sound was generated by sucking air through brass reeds. The vacuum was generated by the feet pumping the vacuum bellow and regulated by the knee board, stops, and keyboard. The reed organ was invented in 1835 and was commonly used in homes and small churches from 1860 to 1920. Shortly after the church was disbanded it has been told that part of the organ was sold. It was reported in the Spokane Review on May 30, 1948 that "mice had made shambles of the interior of the little organ, eating the felt padding and ivory keys had been torn away." In 1948 the lid exposing the inside of the organ was made to hinge, but it did not work properly in 1991. Extensive damage to the organ in the summer of 1997 was consistent with someone sitting or falling on it. Structural repairs were made, but damages described in 1948 were extensive and the organ would never play music again. A functional pump organ was donated to Cordelia on April 7, 2007 by John Elwood and Sally Burkhart. The organ was built by Clough and Warren Company of Detroit Michigan in about 1883. The disassembled organ was found in the basement of a Goodwill Store near Bellingham, Washington by their son who restored the instrument. The organ dedication concert was held on September 23, 2007.
Pastors serving Cordelia included Peter Carlson (1880-1892), Carl A. Ramstedt (1892-1894), Carl J. Beckman (1894-1900), N.J.W. Nelson (1900-1909), George A. Johnson (1909-1917), and John Oslund (1917-1918). Pastors serving Cordelia also served Zion Lutheran of Moscow, the old name for First Lutheran now merged into Emmanuel Lutheran.
Pastors Ramstedt Beckman Nelson Johnson Oslund
The church remains open to visitors. We are always looking for historic photos of Cordelia and people involved with Cordelia. Cordelia Lutheran is available for weddings, vow renewals, and family gatherings.
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